Just kick it, baby

Tuesday

Oct 30, 2012 at 10:36 PMOct 30, 2012 at 10:36 PM

Teenagers love drama. And there's nothing more dramatic in high school sports than a penalty-kick shootout in a playoff soccer game.

Spare me the nonsense about teenagers not being able to handle the pressure of making or blocking a penalty kick in a do-or-die situation. Kids choose to play sports. They know the rules beforehand. A soccer player to stepping up to the line in a penalty shootout is no different than a basketball player having to make a game-winning free throw, or a baseball or softball player coming up to bat with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning of a playoff game.

Might a kid who missed the deciding shot cry if things don't go his way? Sure, but so what? Spend any amount of time around the losing team of a high-school playoff game. Kids cry. A lot. Not losing in a shootout does little to mitigate that.

Penalty shootouts are a perfectly fine way to break a tie. It works for the World Cup, why should high schools be any different? After 120 minutes of soccer — that's two hours, folks — it's time to declare a winner. Shoot it out.

Don't even get me started on the "penalty kicks aren't soccer" argument. Kicking a ball into a net isn't soccer?

And stop saying "there has to be a better way!" There isn't. If there was, someone would have thought of it by now. The NHIAA has used corner kicks and replaying games as solutions, which they've abandoned. I've also heard the suggestion of declaring co-champions. Why? To spare a kid from finding himself in a tough situation?

Is a shootout unfair? I don't think so. Each team gets an equal number of shots. But even if it was, is that really the worst thing in the world? Sports overtimes should have a small element of unfairness to them. It's an incentive to win in regulation.

Do you know what else is unfair? Life.

Please follow me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/JohnDoyle603">@JohnDoyle603. If you'd liketo send me an email, please do so at jdoyle@fosters.com.